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New SX (Essex) 5 String Jazz

J

jkjgiants26

Sep 12, 2009
96
0
California
#1
Anyone seen it yet? Link Removed
Ordered one myself, will be my first 5'er and my first SX. Been dying to try an SX. I know everyone here loves them. Ill post a review when i get it. Anything i should know about it before i get it? and also if i decide to swap out the pickguard for a different colored one where can i get one because i know Fenders dont fit? Also how about a Hipshot A Style Bridge, will it fit and if so what would be a good string spacing?
 
#2
:bassist: Nice! Hard to go wrong for $140! From what i understand SX pickguards have a lot of bass to bass variation so be careful. I know there are custom shops that you send in your old pickguard and they'll send you a new one with the same dimensions, unfortunatly I don't know one off the top of my head:hmm:
 
#3
I'm watching the SX Ursa 2 MN 5 CAR's. What I REALLY want is an URSA 1 MN 5, (though I do like the J body). Still trying to decide how stuck on having a P pickup I am, or if I could live with a J for a flat picked hard rock bass.
 
#4
When you get it, change the strings and do a setup. Play it for a while. Changing the bridge will not matter much sound wise, I have changed 3 and have stopped changing them out. The SX 5 stringers are my main players...

Picture024.jpg


but mine are pre-Ursa.
 
#5
dabbler said:
When you get it, change the strings and do a setup. Play it for a while. Changing the bridge will not matter much sound wise, I have changed 3 and have stopped changing them out. The SX 5 stringers are my main players...but mine are pre-Ursa.
Click to expand...

Dabbler is right. The deal with SX bridges is that they all sound OK, but they have ones with grooves for the saddle screws and ones that don't. On the ones that don't the saddles can slide around and you have to pry on them to get them back where they belong. No big deal, but I often change those out for a nice musicman import for about $20. Just great. The ones with the grooves don't need changed but you may have to drill out the B string hole as it is sometimes too small for some brands of strings.

My personal mods include copper foil shielding and sawing the headstock with the "dixie cup" mod. I'm not a huge fan of basswood bodies in a passive bass, but they are apparently about a pound lighter. Basswood to me is too mellow. There are some cheap Chinese preamps you can pickup up for a few bucks if you want to try active. I also like to change the black or white pickguard to something flashier. (See SX -6 in avatar) Non-burst natural wood SX are usually treated to the pearloid look in some shade or other. Best to have the original pickguard exactly copied at a custom shop.

I've got 9 SX and like them better than my Fenders.
 

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